Racecourse chief encouraged by small improvement in average attendance at British tracks

Racecourse Association chief executive David Armstrong has welcomed the "positive numbers" which showed there was a small increase in the average attendance for race meetings in Britain last year.

The news comes as racing embarks on a new era of premierisation, under which significant changes have been made to the fixture list, designed to showcase the best cards and boost the sport's marketing potential.

Figures for the final quarter of last year revealed there had been a 2.4 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2022.

They meant there was a total of 4,836,406 racegoers in the whole of 2023, which was almost identical to the figure of 4,838,401 on course in the previous 12 months.

But only 1,425 fixtures took place last year, compared to 1,446 in 2022, with the weather causing 105 cancellations, up from 75. That meant the average turnout rose 1.43 per cent year-on-year, from 3,346 to 3,394.

That result comes despite a number of factors which the RCA pointed to as having a negative effect on attendance, including numerous rail strikes on key racedays and the threat of protest activity.

The organisation also hailed a general upturn in crowds in the second half of the year, particularly at major meetings.

There was a significant increase in attendances at Newmarket’s July festival (up 9.7 per cent on 2022) and Cambridgeshire meeting (21.6 per cent), Glorious Goodwood (4.8 per cent), Haydock Park’s Sprint Cup meeting (8.2 per cent) and the Ayr Gold Cup fixture (4.3 per cent).

There was a near 25 per cent rise in crowds for summer jumping in August, up from 60,130 to 74,803. And the total figure of 690,432 for meetings under both codes that month showed a 20 per cent rise on 2022, highlighted by the 8,000 rise in racegoers at Ascot’s Shergar Cup fixture, whose turnout of 24,701 was the biggest since 2018.

David Armstrong: "Over the second half of 2023, we have seen some encouraging results"

Armstrong said: “I am pleased to see the attendance returns for Q4 represent another strong period for British racecourses. Over the second half of 2023, we have seen some encouraging results with a number of fixtures exceeding 2022 levels and, in some cases, pre-pandemic levels.

“As in every year, there are winners and losers when it comes to the weather. Racecourses have had their fair share of challenges on top of this unavoidable element, so to withstand that and finish the year with such positive numbers leaves me heartened for 2024.

“One of the key metrics of the industry strategy is to grow attendances, so our attention now turns to this and to supporting racecourses in the premier and core segments.”

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